Question: When is a terrorist
a terrorist? Answer: When the US
government says so.

When the Mujhadeen in
Afghanistan were assassinating members of their government and the Russian
troops dispatched to support it,
they were, in Washington's view, freedom fighters, even as their enemies branded them
terrorists.

When they turned against an Afghan government imposed by the United States or
revolted against a US invasion, they were once again branded terrorists.

When armed groups battling
Gadaffy's govermment were supported by NATO, they were called freedom fighters.
When some recently and allegedly
turned violently against the United States which is now dominating Libyan
politics, they are once again castigated as terrorists.

And now, the United States
Government through a decision by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has decided
that the Iranian group Mujahedeen
Khalq, or People's Mujahedeen, that had been on the US State Department's terrorist list for years, ha now been
taken off the list.

That means they will no
longer face financial and legal sanctions.

One day they were feared
terrorists, the next day they were not. The "bad guys" became "good guys" with
the swipe of a pen.

The New York Times says this
feat was accomplished through what it describes as an "extraordinary" lobbying
effort costing millions over many
years.

Reports the Times:
"The group, known as the M.E.K., carried out terrorist attacks in the 1970s and
1980s, first against the government of the Shah of Iran and later against the clerical rulers who overthrew
him. Several Americans were among those killed. In the 1980s, it allied with
Saddam Hussein, who permitted it to operate from Camp Ashraf.

But by most accounts, the
M.E.K. has not carried out violent attacks for many years. While it is
described by some critics as cult-like and unpopular with Iranians both inside
and outside the country, the group has been able to gather large crowds at
rallies in the United States and Europe to press its bid to reverse the United
States' terrorist designation, imposed in 1997."

The decision comes just
before an October 1 cut off date ordered by a Federal appeals court

US News explains: "As recently as 2007, a State Department report warned that the M.E.K., retains "the capacity
and will" to attack "Europe, the Middle East, the United States,
Canada, and beyond.

The M.E.K., which
calls for an overthrow of the Iranian government and is considered by many
Iranians to be a cult, once fought for Saddam Hussein and in the 1970s was
responsible for bombings, attempted plane hijackings, and political
assassinations. It was listed as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

If the State Department does
decide to delist M.E.K., whose name means "People's Holy Warriors of
Iran," it will be with the blessing of dozens of congressmen."

News Dissector Danny Schechter is blogger in chief at Mediachannel.Org He is the author of PLUNDER: Investigating Our Economic Calamity (Cosimo Books) available at Amazon.com.
See Newsdisssector.org/store.htm.